Monday, February 14, 2011

Week 3 ~ Ethics & Social Responsibility

Loreal has experienced many ethical controversy’s throughout the year s. One famous controversy involved singer/actor Beyonce’ Knowles when the ad was advertised for their new Feria hair color. The ad featured a strangely white-looking Beyonce’. L’Oreal did immediate damage control, denying that her features or skin tone were retouched for the ad campaign, nothing else was said after the release of that statement.

Frankly, I believe that L’Oreal portrays an image that lighter and whiter women fit their image and profile of beautiful advertisement. In 2002 L’Oreal was sued and found guilty of racial discrimination after it sought to exclude non-white women from promoting its shampoo. In a landmark case, the Garnier division of the beauty empire, along with a recruitment agency it employed, were fined €30,000 (£20,300) each after they recruited women on the basis of race.

"In July 2000, a fax detailing the profile of hostesses sought by L'Oréal stipulated women should be 18 to 22, size 38-42 (UK size 10-14) and "BBR", the initials for bleu, blanc, rouge, the colours of the French flag. Prosecutors argued that BBR, a shorthand used by the far right, was also a well-known code among employers to mean "white" French people and not those of north African, African and Asian backgrounds."

After the ruling, the company said in a statement, “We believe that diversity and difference are a source of richness and we do not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination.” Except, I guess, when you have a highly successful spokeswoman whose skin is just too dark.